China 2010: Shanghai Carrefour Bakery

So I know that technically this belongs in the last post, but there's so many pictures of the bakery section that I figured it deserved its very own post. Unlike Western buns, most Chinese breads are steamed, often with interesting fillings or shapes like these. They are called baozi.

Here's a close-up of a bun I had never seen before -->

I actually prefer the mantou, which are like baozi without filling. We saw a bunch of interesting ones on the side.

These things were adorable. Trust the Chinese to get creative with anything they can make a profit out of. I doubt they taste all the great, but I was tempted to buy them just for the presentation.

The hot goods were even more interesting and excellent fodder for my camera.

Hot Bing (or fried pancake/bread). They're delicious, but they're also very dense and heavy, so we've always considered them a waste of stomach.

I've never really understood what these were exactly...they look like some kind of deep-fried noodle. Whatever they are, they look like a heart attack waiting to happen.

Malay Gao, or Malaysian steamed egg cake. They're actually really good and, in my opinion, superior to the sugar-saturated, drowned-in-icing delicacies found in America.

Chinese on-the-go breakfast foods. I think the very front items are deep-fried pumpkin cakes (nan gua bing) that have a gooey pumpkin puree filling. Yum. Behind them are, weirdly enough, some kind of Chinese take on hamburgers? Then behind them are egg pancakes or dan bing.

Some cookies...